Tony Okafor, Awka
The Oba of Nri (the ancestral home of Igbo), Chief Emelie Okika, has warned those parading themselves as regents of the community to desist from doing so to avoid the wrath of the gods.
Speaking with Southern City News in his palace at Nri, Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, Okika said regency position or crown prince had no place in the community’s customs and tradition.
He said this was so because the king of Nri must first die before he would be crowned.
The Oba, who is the chairman of the Nze na Ozo society in the community said, “What I am telling you may sound like exaggeration, but it is the truth. Before a person is crowned the king of Nri, the candidate must first die. When the candidate dies, he will be buried in a shallow grave for three days.
“During that period, he will undergo a transformation; pass through a stage, from human being to spirit, after which he will wake up and his body will be adorned with white chalk (Nzu) and he will shine like a star.
“While the candidate is in the grave, he is being mourned by his family and the entire village will be in festive mood, eating and dancing every day. After that traditional mourning, when the would-be king wakes up again, he takes a new body and he is now a spirit.
“Our method to determine who would become the king is not through election; it is divine. We would have to perform what we call ‘Afa’ (divination). The gods would have to say who it would be. Whoever the gods appoint for that position cannot refuse it.”
Okika said the incumbent king, Eze Onyesoh, believed to have died, only embarked on a journey which he said would take him out of the community for seven years before his return.
He added, “We are expecting Onyesoh back in the next seven years; the community has customs and traditions, which it treasures so much.
Okika said it was the duty of the Nze na Ozo council to announce to the public whenever a monarch had embarked on such a journey.
“Until all necessary customs are observed, anyone who announces himself as king or regent or as a crown prince will face serious spiritual consequences. We don’t need the police to enforce this. It’s a spiritual thing,” he added.
He said it was incumbent on the community council to hold brief pending the return of the traditional ruler.
“We are making it clear that nobody has been selected as Nri traditional ruler or regent of Nri. We, therefore, warn anybody parading himself as crown prince or regent to desist in their own interest,” the Oba stated.
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